Vintage Madonna and Child
These vintage madonna and child pieces bring centuries of devotional art into the home through wearable gold medals, framed prints, and carved wood sculptures.
Vintage Madonna and Child
When you search for vintage madonna and child, you encounter a wide array of devotional works spanning wearable golden pendants and large sculptural figures. The pieces on this page lean heavily towards French religious medals struck in yellow gold alongside framed prints and carved wooden statues.
Pendants dominate the selection, often featuring detailed depictions of the Virgin Mary and the infant Christ set in eighteen-carat yellow gold. These medals frequently originate from French workshops and incorporate devotional motifs such as the sacred heart.
Beyond jewellery, the selection includes framed classical prints, oil paintings, and larger carved wooden or stone sculptures. These varied forms reflect a long tradition of domestic religious observance across multiple decades.
What varies in quality
Materials also dictate the tier of a piece, with translucent enamel work and solid yellow gold settings representing higher craftsmanship than standard printed paper or base metal equivalents.
Vintage Madonna and Child Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for vintage madonna and child among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Dropsy refers not to an ailment in these French medals, but to a specialist Parisian devotional jeweller.
Perriat·Arnault·Tschacbasov
The Vintage Madonna and Child Glossary
- Medal pendant
- A small wearable religious medallion designed to be suspended from a chain. These typically feature sacred iconography on the face and inscriptions on the reverse.
- Plique-à-jour
- An enamelling technique where enamel is applied in cells without a backing, creating a stained-glass effect. This delicate method allows light to shine directly through the coloured glass.
- Sacred Heart
- A traditional Christian symbol depicting the heart of Jesus Christ shining with divine light. It frequently appears on French devotional medals alongside the figures of Mary and the child.
- Renaissance Revival
- A nineteenth-century style that draws heavily upon the artistic forms and humanist ideals of the fifteenth-century Renaissance. It informs many of the painted and printed depictions found in this category.
Vintage Madonna and Child: Frequently Asked Questions
What metals are used in these pendants?
The metallic pieces and pendant frames utilise yellow gold, predominantly marked at eighteen carats.
Silver also appears occasionally in decorative brooches and smaller devotional items.
Are these medals French in origin?
A significant portion of the religious medals originate from France, particularly those associated with nineteenth and early twentieth-century devotional practices.
Other items span British, Spanish, and American production periods.
How were the larger sculptures displayed?
Large carved figures and statues were typically placed in domestic shrines, chapels, or principal rooms for private prayer.
Garden statues and heavy stone stoups were designed for exterior walls or entryway use.
What periods do these works cover?
The selection spans items from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including Victorian pieces and works from the nineteen-forties.
Earlier centuries appear occasionally through traditional wood carvings and stylistic revivals.